Fuel Tank Drain

Topic: Fuel Tank Drain (Read 1163 times) previous topic - next topic

Fuel Tank Drain

July 09, 2012, 09:31:39 am

Is there a drain on the main fuel tank to let out any water that may have accumulated in the fuel ?

The model is a 2000 36 Ft U270.

I am doing this remotely so I want to direct a mechanic to the drain if there is one.

Thanks Don

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #1 – July 09, 2012, 09:42:40 am

On my 99 it's recessed but easily accessed. Tell him to stick his head under that area and he'll see the black grommet. There was a thread on this pretty recently.
jor

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #2 – July 09, 2012, 10:00:26 am

Quote from: jor – July 09, 2012, 09:42:40 am

On my 99 it's recessed but easily accessed. Tell him to stick his head under that area and he'll see the black grommet. There was a thread on this pretty recently.

Jor,

Your post with photo of the grommet is here in the Caulk topic Caulk???

Michelle

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #3 – July 09, 2012, 11:19:39 am

Quote from: Donmystic1 – July 09, 2012, 09:31:39 am

Is there a drain on the main fuel tank to let out any water that may have accumulated in the fuel ?

The model is a 2000 36 Ft U270.

I am doing this remotely so I want to direct a mechanic to the drain if there is one.

Thanks Don

Here is a photo of mine.

Coach PM Punch List

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #4 – July 09, 2012, 11:21:37 am

Don,

An easier and less messy way to drain any water or debris from the tank is to orient the coach (park on hill or with boards or with jacks if equipped) such that the area under the fill is the LOW POINT. Let it sit for at least an hour. Water and/or dirt, being heavier than diesel will migrate to the low point.

Then wire tie a piece of hose to a straightened coat hanger so that you can position the bottom of the hose in the deepest part of the tank. Then lower then other end of the hose to ground level and siphon off any water or debris into a glass container.

Brett

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #5 – July 09, 2012, 12:00:17 pm

I just a week ago drained my tank as I thuoght that there could be algae in it and what I did is use one of those cheap plastic pumps that hook up to a drill motor and a long piece of plastic tube and actually pump all your fuel out to contaioners. I got a shock when I had finished pumping it all out as I thought there was possibly only a few gallons in it (guage was reading under 1/4 and I go 200 litres out of it-so I now know my gauge is out. It only took about 15 mins and a lot less mess than pulling that plug to begin with. Once you have all you can pump then take that plug off. If the pump sucks any water etc let the fuel stand and do not pump to bottom of the pails it is sitting in.
John H

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #6 – July 09, 2012, 04:50:02 pm

As Barry Beam said two years ago "There is NO WAY of unscrewing that bolt and not getting fuel all over you."

In our coach removing the fuel tank drain plug will allow diesel to splash/spill on top of bay floor, under the tank where it cannot be cleaned. It will also flow into the floor inner structure, and destroy the Styrofoam. And diesel smell never seems to go away.

We use the recently mentioned inexpensive $10 'drill pump' with a couple lengths of short garden hose attached to both ends of pump. On the suction side hose, we insert a bent copper pipe that will reach to the bottom of the fuel tank.

Occasionally, we pump out a gallon of diesel from the bottom into a large glass jar. We let the jar sit still for several days so any water and biocides will find their level, water on bottom, fuel on top with any bacteria in between.

We look for different layers near the bottom of the glass jar, but over the years have only seen clear diesel.

We carry several quarts of Power Service Bio Kleen & Diesel 911 and three spare fuel filters, just in case we get some bad fuel with water.

For the last 12 years, we also add "Power Service Diesel Kleen + Cetane Boost" (Walmart) to every fuel fill-up. We as a rule do not believe in any additives as they seem to be more marketing than anything else, but somehow Diesel Kleen made to our exception list.

We also only fill-up at truck pumps where there are no gasoline hoses nearby. And Flying J is our first choice, where by the way our Pilot Frequent Fueler RV card gives us the cash price even though we can pay with any credit card, saving us 6 cents/gal. Also the card gives us 'pump start' where we don't have to go into the station before pumping. There is also an additional 3 cents/gal RV discount. Sometimes, other nearby truck stops or gas stations, have the same or lower price than we paid after our 9 cent Flying J discount, so Flying J may not have the lowest price.

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #7 – July 10, 2012, 05:42:49 am

When we purchased our coach there was evidence of a prior algae problem. As a matter of fact we had an issue on our test drive. The engine slowly lost power and could not make it back to the dealership. The plastic strainer was removed and cleaned as it was full of dead algae. As a result of this experience we have been conscious about keeping the water buildup in the tank to a minimum.
We have used a bottle of Fuel Power Products By Name at each fill up and haven't had any further issues. This product is supposed to keep any water in suspension, thus eliminating a component needed for algae growth.

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #8 – July 10, 2012, 07:10:31 am

Don,

Why are you draining the tank? Changing fuel filters several times is usually much cheaper and a whole lot less messy than using any of the suggested draining techniques. I have never drained a diesel tank in 600,000 miles of driving.

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #9 – July 10, 2012, 12:12:59 pm

Thanks Brett,
I am bringing six filter and two secondaries for the engine and will probably just change them out as needed.
I find in my commercial boating experience that the water in the low spots of fuel tanks tends to rot the tank out due to electrolosis ( aluminum or steel is the same so I am a firm believer of keeping the water out.
How do you carry your Beemer with you.
I have three BMW My original 1977 750 / 7 restored, a fully equipped R1150 Rt-P Police model and a standard R11540 RRT

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #10 – July 10, 2012, 01:08:53 pm

Actually Brett, taking the fuel out by the pump was a simple thing and quick and I wanted to make sure I did not have anything in the tank (my filter did have some algea in it), rather than wait and maybe have to change a filter on the road. It also proved to me that my fuel gauge was reading wrong, so now I have to maybe fix the sender. I looked at it as having a Base line to start at so now I know it is clean.
John

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #11 – July 10, 2012, 04:32:14 pm

John,

Might be a good time to calibrate your fuel gauge. If you have a rectangular tank, you can figure out how many gallons per inch, fill it gradually and then jot down the fuel gauge reading for 1/8, 1/4 etc. against the inches/gallons you added to the tank. Could still do it with a complex tank but would have to measure the gallons of fuel you put in.

I get exactly 6.00 gallons per inch. With my flat floor and the rig level, I measured 5 inches of fuel yesterday so have 30 gallons in the tank. Really dry here so I don't worry about the algae, just take a look every once in a while.

Don't know how easy it is to get to your sender but if I pop out the utility drawer above the propane tank and then take the right side drawer support off, I can squeeze out far enough to get at all the hoses/fittings on the top of my tank.

Pierce

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #12 – July 10, 2012, 04:36:20 pm

I really have not thought about it much since checking for the algea but I can just take a cover off and the top of sender is in plain view on the passenger side filler. I will have to read up on it before I take it out to do as I do not want to screw it up.
John

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Fuel Tank Drain

July 09, 2012, 09:31:39 am

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #1 – July 09, 2012, 09:42:40 am

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #2 – July 09, 2012, 10:00:26 am

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #3 – July 09, 2012, 11:19:39 am

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #4 – July 09, 2012, 11:21:37 am

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #5 – July 09, 2012, 12:00:17 pm

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #6 – July 09, 2012, 04:50:02 pm

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #7 – July 10, 2012, 05:42:49 am

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #8 – July 10, 2012, 07:10:31 am

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #9 – July 10, 2012, 12:12:59 pm

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #10 – July 10, 2012, 01:08:53 pm

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #11 – July 10, 2012, 04:32:14 pm

Re: Fuel Tank Drain

Reply #12 – July 10, 2012, 04:36:20 pm

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